Door hinge and door opening means



Oct. 29, 1940. R. SCHONITZER DOOR HINGE AND DOOR OPENING MEANS Filed Feb. 28; .1940

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. R U DOLPH I.SCHONITZER.

ATTORN Y5.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. l. SCHONITZER Filed Feb. 28, 1940 a". gnu

DOOR HINGE AND DOOR OPENING MEANS Oct. 29, 1940.-

FIG.9

INVENTOR. RUDOLPH I.SCHONITZER.

W ATTORNEYS.

ill/ l! 1- lhMwLl -1- l Patented Oct. 29, 1940 6 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,219,825 noon HINGE AND noon OPENING MEANS Rudolph I. Schonitzer, Shaker Heights, Ohio Q Application February 28, 1940, Serial No. 321,259

9 Claims. This invention relates to door hinge and door openingmeans, the hinge of such means being of the concealed type. Although not restricted thereto, means embodying the present invention are particularly applicable for use with presentday automobile doors, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The present invention has for its general object the provision of means by which an autobe automatically opened upon the unlatching thereof, the hinging of said door and the automatic opening thereof being accomplished in a illustrated in Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive; or the predetermined open position to which a door is automatically movable by means embodying the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, in

which case said door may be manually moved to it; fully open position from such partially open position all as will be readily understood.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of means which not only enables an when it reaches itsfully open position.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of door unit, and hence in a simple and convenient manner, with a door or them to have matically movable and hinge and door opening means tures and extends into the other structure for pivotal association therewith; and which means does not require, in the structure into which said hinge leaf extends, the provision of large or objectionable openings or the like, all as will here- 5 inaf'ter more fully appear.

Other features of the three door hinge and door opening means here illustrated are their structural simplicity, which keeps their cost low; their strong and rugged character, which enables 10 an exceedingly long life in service, without requiring attention from time to time; and the efiiciency with which they perform their several functions, such as their door hinging function, their door opening function, their func- 15 tion of arresting the opening movement of the doors with which they are'used when said doors reach their fully open positions; and theirfunction of yieldingly resisting the closing of such doors from the predetermined open positions to 20 which said doors are automatically movable.

Further features of door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention are in part obvious and in part will appear from the following description of three such means, ref- 25 erence being had to the accompaying drawings, in which 1 Fig. 1 is an outside elevation of a left rear automobile doorand an adjacent portion of the automobile body on which said door is hinged 3 by one form of door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention, parts of the outer side walls of said door and body portions being broken away to expose such means and said door being'in its closed positon; Fig. 2 35 is a horizontal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through said door and body po tions, the view being on the line 2-2, Figs. 1 and 3, and two open positions of said door being indicated in dotted lines, namely, the predetermined par- .40 tially open position to which said door is autothe fully open position to which said door is manually movable from such partially open position; Fig. 3 is a vertical secon the line 3-.3, duced scale; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through said body portion, the view being on the line 4-4, Fig. 2, and on the scale of Fig. 3; Fig.

5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and illustrating a 50 slightly modified form of door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention; Fig. 6 is a detail vertical sectional view through the automobile body portion of Fig. 5, as viewed from the line 68, Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a view similar 55 to Fig. 2 but showing still another form of door hinge and door opening means embddying the present invention, the view being on the line I-1, Fig. 8, and the fully open position of said door, to which it is automatically movable, being indicated in dotted lines; Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through the automobile door and body portions of Fig. 'l, the view being on the line 8-8, Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view through the automobile body portion of Figs. 7 and 8, the view being on the line 9-9, Fig. '7.

Before the present "invention is described in detail, it is to be understood that such invention is not limited to the details of construction or the. specific arrangement of parts herein illustrated or described, as the invention obviously may take other forms. It also is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein employed is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Although doorvhinge and door opening means embodying the present invention are applicable for use with the doors of -arious structures, said means are particularly useful with the doors of present-day automobiles, and for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, the use of three such .door hinge and door opening means with present-day automobile doors is here shown and described.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, wherein is illustrated one form of door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention, the reference numeral l designates a portion of a left rear automobile door, the rear edge portion of which is hinged, as is usual, on the front edge part of that portion of the automobile body here shown and designated generally by the reference numeral 2,'the hinging (in a concealed manner) of said door on said body portion being effected by the hinge parts of such door hinge and door opening means, as will hereinafter more fully appear. As best shown in Fig. 2, when the door I is in its closed position, the transverse rear edge wall 3 of said door and the transverse front edge wall 4 of the body portion 2 (which edge walls are hereinafter termed hinge edge walls) are in oppositely positioned or generally abutting relationship, bywhich is meant that said hinge edge walls are oppositely positioned or disposed and either in actual contact or, as here shown, relatively close to each other. A

Although any suitable means maybe utilized for releasably retaining the door I in its closed position and for actuating said retaining means to release said door for opening movement, (said retaining means being. hereinafter referred to broadly as latch means), the door hinge and door opening means here involved are particularly useful in conjunction with doors whose latch means have push-buttons or the like for effecting release actuation thereof," as said door hinge and door opening means automatically effect the opening of such doors upon the unlatching thereof. Projecting door handles, by the use of which present-day automobile doors are unlatched and manually opened, not only are dangerous (in that many severe injuries have been caused by them) butalso, said projecting handles seriously interfere with the streamlining effects now desired for automobile bodies. Inasmuch as the door hinge and door opening means here involved automatically effect, upon the unlatching of the doors with which they are used, the movement of said doors toany desired open positions, including their fully open positions, the use for such doors of the presentday handles for door opening purposes is wholly unnecessary. As a result, simple push-buttons or the like, desirable from many standpoints,

may be used with the latch means of a door with which is used a door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention.

The latch means, therefore, of the automobile door I may be, and preferably is, of the type in which push-buttons or the like are utilized for effecting the release actuation of said latch means. For example,-said latch means may be of the form disclosed in my copending application for Door opening devices, filed August 21, 1939, Serial No. 291,240, or in other words, latch means embodying the invention of my prior Patent No. 2,094,413 for Door control mechanism, to

which patent reference may be had, if desired.

However, inasmuch as the latch means of the door I forms no part of the present invention, no latch means for such door is here shownor described.

As will hereinafter more fully appear, each of the three door hinge and door opening means here illustrated is of such compact form that it may be, and here is, located between or within the confines of the'general planes of the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of the inner and outer side walls of an automobile door and the general planes of the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of the inner and outer side walls of that portion of the automobile body on which said door is hinged, there being (see Figs. 2 and 7) more or less alignment of the outer side wall of such a door and the outer side wall of such a body portion and more or less alignment of the inner side wall of such a door and the inner side wall of such a body portion, when said door 'is in its closed position. The inner side wall of an automobile door and the inner side wall of the automobile body portion on which said door is hinged generally include trim panels or the like, and the general plane of the inner surface of such a side wall, as that term is here used, is the plane which not only includes the inner surface of the trim panel or the like of such wall but which also extends therebeyond, as will be readily understood.

As a result, each of the door hinge and door opening means here illustrated not only is eminently satisfactory from structural and functional standpoints but also, is commercially practical for a present-day automobile door, as such means is concealed from view when said door is in its closed position and is exposed when said door is in its fully open position, only to the extent to which a present-day automobile door hinge of the concealed type is now exposed. In other words, the door opening spring of such means is concealed from view at all times, and only a part of the movable hinge leaf or hinge leaves is exposed when said door is open.

Although door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention may take various forms, as will be readily understood and as will hereinafter more fully appear, each of the three means here illustrated comprises (a) at least one hinge leaf secured to either a door structure or the supporting structure therefor and extending into the other structure; (b) at least one hinge eye carried by the structure into which said hinge leaf extends; (c) a pintle or the like for pivotally connecting said hinge leaf to said hinge eye, the result of which is the binsing, in a concealed manner, of said door strucamaaas 3 ture on said supporting structure; and (d) spring means effective upon saidhinge leaf for automatically opening said door structure upon'the unlatching thereof, said spring means also having the function of yieldingly resisting (but only to a desirable degree) the closing of said door structure from the predetermined open position to which it is automatically movable, whereby said door structure, when opened, will be releasably retained in an open condition, even though it may have a normal tendency to close. In addition, a door hinge and door opening means embodying .the present invention may include, as

here shown, a suitable abutment for limiting the movement in a door opening direction of the hinge leaf of said means, and hence of the door structure secured to said hinge leaf. when said hinge leaf and said door structure reach their fully open position. Referring now to the door hinge and door opening means illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, it will be noted that such hinge means includes a pair of hinge leaves 5 and 6 of the socalled goose neck form now frequently used in automobile door hinges of the concealed type, and which hinge leaves may be, and here are, of duplicate character for economy of manu-. facture and simplicity of assembly.

Although said hinge leaves may be rigidly secured to the automobile body portion 2 and pivotally associated with the automobile door I, said hinge'leaves are here rigidly secured to said automobile door, and for such securement purbile body portion together constituting the socalled goose neck thereof. As best shown in Fig. 2, the portion l3 of each such hinge leaf is outwardly offset from, but generally parallel with, the attaching portion 1 thereof, and the portion H of each such hinge leaf is more or less normal to the inner and outer side walls I! and ii of said automobile body portion. Therefore, as-

the hinge edge wall 4 of said body portion is more or less normal to the inner and outer side walls thereof, and inasmuch as said body hinge edge wall is more or less parallel with the hinge edge wall 3 of the door I when said door is in its closed position, the transverse portion M of each such hinge leaf is more or less parallel at all times with the door hinge edge wall 3 and more For the pivotal connection of the transverse portions M of the two hinge leaves 5 and 6 to suitable hinge eyes l8 with which the automobile body portion 2 is here provided, a pintle I9 is here utilized, and for the reception of such pintle, a suitable aperture is provided in each of said hinge leaf portions. Preferably, the pintle-receiving aperture of each of said hinge leaf portions is at or adjacent the free or outer end thereof, and as here shown, each of said hinge leaf portions is provided at its free or outer end with a generally cylindrical apertured ear 20. If desired, the apertured ear of each hinge leaf may be of less height or depth than that of the portion l4 thereof by which it is carried or of which it is an integral part, and if such ear is of such reduced height or depth, it may be, and preferably is, spaced substantiallymidway betweeh the upper and lower longitudinal edges of the portion id, as here shown.

The hinge eyes l8 of the automobile body portion 2, to which the hinge leaf ears 20 arepive otally connected by the pintle iii, are here integral parts of a generally rectangular metal plate 22, which is located within said body portion and secured to any suitable part thereof. As here shown, said plate is screwed or otherwise suitably secured to the transverse wall 23 of a sheet metal reinforcement pillar with which such body portion is here provided, said plate lying alongside the rear surface of said pillar wall and having its hinge eyes laextending forwardly through a suitable opening 24 with which such pillar wall is here provided. Inasmuch as said pillar wall. is of relatively light gauge sheet metal, as is usual, the attaching screws 25 for the plate 22 here extend into a generally C-shaped tapping plate 26 lying alongside the front surface of said pillar wall adjacent the inner side edge and the top and bottom edges of its opening 24, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

ear 2!) of one ofthe hinge leaves 5 and .6. The.

pintle i9 extends, of course, through the two apertured ears of the two hinge leaves and through the four hinge eyes of the plate 22, and 5 thus enables the automobile door I to be hinged,

' in a concealed and especially desirable manner, to the automobile body portion 2, all as will be readily understood.

In order to automatically efiect the opening of the door I, upon the unlatching thereof, the door hinge and door opening means of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive is provided with or includes a helical torsion spring 28, which surrounds the pintle I 9 between the two pairs of hinge eyes l8. As here shown, said spring is-so wound that its. upper end portion 29 has a normal tendency to swing in a door opening or counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 2, and such end portion therefore constitutes the door opening arm of said spring, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The lower end portion 30 of said spring has a normal tendency to move in a clockwise direction, Fig. 2, but such movement of said spring end portion is here effectively prevented by its engagement with the plate 22 by which the hinge eyes l8 are carried, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4- As best shown in Fig. 2, the transverse portion ll of the upper hinge leaf lies between the door I to be opened and the upper end portion or door opening arm 29 of the spring 28 and as said spring arm engages said hinge leaf portion from the rear, said spring arm has a normal tendency to push the upper hinge leaf, and hence the door I, in a door opening direction. As a result, the automatic opening of the door I is accomplished in a particularly practical and effective manner, as will be readily understood.

During the closing of said door, the spring 28 is put in the desired loaded'f condition by the en agement of the transverse portion ll of the upper hinge leaf 5 with the arm 29 of said spring,

said spring arm being moved in a spring load.- ing or clockwise direction, Fig. 2, during the closing of said door. Therefore, when said door is in its closed position, said spring is in proper condition to automatically efiect, upon the unlatching of said door, the opening of said door, as will be readily understoodt If desired, the spring arm 29 may be permitted to swing, upon the unlatching of the door I, a sumcient distance in a door opening or counterclockwise direction, Fig. 2, to automatically effect the opening of said door to its fully open position, (the dotted line position of saiddoor designated by the reference letter A in Fig.1). As here shown, however, the position to which said door is automatically movable is a partially open position thereof, and for the accomplishment of that result, an abutment is here utilized for arresting the movement of the spring arm 29 in a door 'opening or counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 2, when said door reaches the desired partially open position, such as the dotted line position of 'said door designated by the reference letter B in Fig. 2. As will be readily understood, any suitable abutment may beutilized for cooperation with the spring arm -29- in limiting to the desired extent door opening movement thereof, the abutment here shown for such purpose being the out-turned end portion 32 of a hook-shaped arm 33 of the plate 22 by which the hirfge eyes I8 are here carried. As best shown in Fig. 2, said hook-shaped arm projects forwardly from the plate 22, (of which it may be, if desired, an integral part) and inasmuch as said arm is here located in the path of movement of the upper hinge leaf 5, the transverse portion I4 of said hinge leaf is provided with a suitable slot 34 therefor, arclearly shown in Fig. 4.

As best shown in Fig. 2, when the door I reaches its partially open position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2, and designated by the reference letter B, the out-turned end portion 32 of the plate arm 33 is engaged by the spring arm 29 and further movement of said spring arm, and hence further automatic movement of said door, in a door opening or counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 2, are effectively prevented, although said door may be manually moved, if desired, on to its fully open position, the dotted line position of said door designated by the reference letter A in Fig. 2. Thereforaby merely varying the location of the limiting abutment (such as the outturned end portion 32 of the plate arm 33) for the door opening spring arm of means embodying the present invention, the door with which such means is used may be automatically moved movable.

to any desired partially open position, as will be readily understood.

In addition to effecting the automatic opening of the door I, upon the unlatching thereof, the

spring 28, through its arm 29, also yieldingly 5 resists (but only to a desirable degree) the closing of said door from'the predetermined partially open position to which it is automatically As a result, said door, when opened,

will remain in an open condition unless it is 10 manually closed, even though said door, like most present-day automobile doors, has a normal tendency to close.

If desired, the door hinge and door opening means of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive may efi'ect, and 15 it here does, the arresting of opening movement of the door I when it reaches its fully open position, thereby making wholly unnecessary the use of a separate door check for that purpose. As

here shown, the uppermost hinge eye I8 of the 2 automobile body portion 2 is provided, integrally or otherwise, with a depending abutment 35 in the path of door opening movement of the transverse portion ll of the upper hinge leaf 5, the

location of said abutment being such 'that it is 25 engaged by said hinge leaf portion when the door I reaches its fully open position. The result of such engagement, of course, is the positive arresting of further opening movement of said.

door, and by merely varying the location of such 3 abutment, the fully open position of said door may be readily predetermined, as desired.

As will be readily understood, the provision of either the abutment 32 for the spring arm 29 or the abutment 35 for the upper hinge leaf 5 serves to effectively limit the door opening movement of the spring arm 29 to such an extent that it is wholly unnecessary to wind up or load the spring 28, by hand or otherwise, when assembling the door hinge and door opening means of Figs. 1 to 40 4 inclusive with the automobile body portion 2, and inasmuch as said means is assembled as a unit with said body portion, such assembly can be easily, quickly and conveniently effected.

Moreover, the assembly of such means with said body portion can be accomplished from within the automobile body, so that the openings I2 in the hinge edge wall 4 of the body portion 2 (through which the hinge leaves 5 and 5 extend) may be of small and wholly unobjectionable size.

For an automobile door of the character of the one designated by the reference numeral I, the door hinge and door opening means of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive is sufllcient for the complete hinging of said door to its supporting structure, the hinge leaves 5 and 6 of said means being spaced apart sufliciently to make the hinging of said door by such meanspractical and effective. It is to be understood, however, that door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention, 0

(such as the means of Figs. '7 to 9, for example), may be used in conjunction with other hinges, such as those now on the market, if desired.

, As heretofore pointed-out, three forms of door hinge and door opening means embodying the presentinvention are here illustrated, and one such means, namely, the one illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, has now been specifically described. Reference will now be made to the other two, and to avoid needless repetition, only the manner in which they differ from the means of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive will be referred to.&

In the door hinge and door opening means of Figs, 5 and 6, there is but a single hinge leaf, the

apertured ear 29a of which is located betwee 1 a Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive is provided, integrally or pair of hinge eyes I81: 01' the automobile body ment of the door l'b when said door reaches its portion 2a. The hinge eye 36 of said body porfully open position, may be other parts than tion, through which extends the lower end porthose here shown.

tion of the pintle [9a, is not carried by the plate 31 of which the upper hinge eyes l8a are here integral parts, but is an integral part of a. metal plate 38 which is screwed or otherwise suitably porting structure of a door of the character of the left rear automobile door designated by the reference numeral I, as the movable hinge leaves 5 and 6 of such means may be spaced apart sufficiently to make the hinging of said door by such means practical and effective. However, for the complete hinging of some automobile doors, such as front'doors and certain rear doors where more length is available for hinging purposes, more or less widely spaced hinge means are desirable, and for such a door, a door hinge and door opening means embodying the present invention may be used in conjunction with any. suitable hinge means, such as with a hinge means of the type now on the market, or otherwise, as will be readily understood.

forcement pillar of helical torsion spring 28a of this door hinge and door opening means is therefore located between the hinge eye 36 and the lower hinge eye IBa, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. Although this embodiment of the present invention may effect, if desired, the automatic movement of the door la to a partially open position only (as in that embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive), the means of Figs. 5 and 6 here a efiects the automatic movement of said door to its fully open position, as in the third form of the present invention here illustrated and about to be described. Inasmuch as the door hinge and door opening meansof Figs. 5 and 6 is otherwise identical with the door hinge and door hing g f dOOl Structure on its Supporting opening means of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, no fur-g structure, andclike or similar terms, denote and ther reference thereto is believed to be necessary. -cover the pivotal connection of a door Structure to its supporting structure, regardless of whether F 7. t 9 inclusive there is a single ut s eor not such pivotal connection is suflicient for portion Nb of such hinge leaf having two aperits supporting structure. tured ears 20b at the free or outer end of said portion and adjacent the upper and lower longitudinal edges thereof. For the pivotal association of said hinge leaf therewith, the automobile body portion 2b is provided with two hinge eyes l8b, which are here shown as integral parts of a suippolll'gnig plate 226 and which are spacedapar s c em y to receive therebetween the supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of upper and W? a-Pertmed ears said hinge said structures are in oppositely positioned relaleaf- Thehenca'l torsion spring 28b of this tionship when said door structure is in its closed ticular door hinge and door opening means is therefore located between the two hinge leaf ears 20b, said spring surrounding, as in the previously described-embodiments of this invention,

ent invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which such invention relates.

What I claim is: 1. In combination with a door structure and a leaf secured to one of said structures and having a portion located within the other structure in lab or the aummobue ture, a pintle pivotally connecting said hinge For arresting the'opemng movement of the leaf portion to the aforesaid part of said last autmbfle lb when said reaches its mentioned structure, whereby the door strucfully open position, (the dotted line position of ture is hinged on said supporting structure, a

said door in 7) the hinge leaf ear 2% torsion spring means having an arm effective on of the door hinge and door opening means of the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf and normall ur in said hinge leaf to swing in a door otherwise, with an extension 40 for cooperative y g g engagement, when said door, reaches its. fully open position, with an abutment ll of the supporting plate 22b for the hinge eyes as the door structure and being effective to auto-- clearly Shown Inasmuch as the matically open said doorstructure when it" is Structioh and Operation of this Particular door closed and unlatched, and an abutment carried hinge and 098111118 means Wm be readily by the structure within which the aforesaid porunderstood, no further reference thereto is beon of saidhinge leaf is located for so'limiting lieved to be necessarythe movement of said spring means arm in adoor It 0f e, o be unde s d that the opening direction that said spring can eifect the pending abutment 35 of the door hinge and door automatic movement of said door structure to 9. opening means ofFigs. 1 to 4 inclusive and the partially open position only." corresponding abutment. 35a of the door hinge 2. In combination with a 1 Structure and a and door opening means 0! Figs. 5 and 6, (fragmentarily shown in Fig. 5)abutments for arresting the opening movement of the doors I and la-need not be carried by the upper hinge eyes of such means, but may be carried by other hinge'eyes or by other parts of such means. Likewise, the inter-engageable parts 40 and II of the door hinge and door opening means of-Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive, for arresting the opening movesaid pintle, said spring means being put in the means for so hinging said door structure on said supporting structure. that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned reclosed position, said hinge meansjcomprising a hinge leaf secured to oneof said structures and having a portion located within the other structure in the region of its hinge fedge wall and be- In the appended claims, therefore, the termthe complete hinging of said door structure on Further features and advantages of the pres-' supporting structure therefor, concealed hingemeans for so hinging said. door structure on said position, said hinge means comprising a hingeopening direction about the longitudinal axis of desired loaded condition during the closing of.

lationship whenisaid door structure is in its,

supporting structure therefor, concealed hinge means having an arm effective on.

tween the general planes of its side walls, said hinge leaf portion having an apertured part, an

apertured part carried by and located within said last mentioned structure, a pintle extending through the apertured part of said hinge leaf and-the apertured part of said last mentioned structure, whereby said hinge leaf is pivotally connected to the apertured part of said last mentioned structure and the door structure is hinged on said supporting structure, a torsion spring the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf and normally urging said hinge leaf to swing in a door opening'direction about the longitudinal axis of said pintle, said spring means being put in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective to automatically open said door structure when it is closed and unlatched, and an elongated abutment member carried by the structure within which the apertured part of said hinge leaf is located for so limiting the movement of said spring arm in a door opening direction that said spring can effect the automatic movement of said door structure to a par-,

tially open position only, said hinge leaf portion being provided with an opening for the extension therethrough of said abutment member.

3. In combination with a door structure and a supporting structure therefor, concealed hinge means for so hinging said door structure on said supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned relationship when said door structure is in its closed position, said hinge means comprising a hinge leaf secured to one of said structures and having a portion located within the other structure in the region of its hinge edge wall and between the general planes of its side walls, a part carried by and located within said last mentioned structure, a pintle pivotally connecting said hinge leaf portion to the aforesaid part of said last mentioned structure, whereby said door structure is hinged on said supporting structure, spring means effective on the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf and normally urging said hinge leaf to swing in a door opening direction about the longitudinal axis of said pintle, said spring means being put in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective to automatically open said door structure when it is closed and unlatched, and means cooperable with said spring means for preventing it from automatically moving said door structure beyond a predetermined partially open position.

4. In combination with a door structure and a supporting structure therefor, concealed hinge means for so hinging said door structure on said supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned relationship when said door structure is in its closed position, said hinge means comprising a pair of hinge leaves secured to said door structure and having apertured parts located within said supporting structure adjacent its hinge edge walls and between the general planes of its side walls, a one-piece member secured to and located within said supporting structure and having two spaced pairs of apertured eyes, the eyes of each such pair being separated to receive therebetween an apertured part of one of said hinge leaves, a pintle located entirely within said supporting structure and extending through the apertured parts of said hinge leaves and the apertured eyes of said member, whereby sai hinge means for so hinging said door leaves are pivotally connected to said member and said door structure is hinged on said supporting structure, and a helical torsion spring surrounding said pintle between the two pairs of eyes and having an arm with a normal .tendency to swing in a door opening direction, said spring arm being and one of said hinge leaves for cooperation with such hinge leaf, said spring through its arm being put in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective by the cooperation of its arm with said last mentioned hinge leaf to automatically open said door structure when it is closed and unlatched.

5. In combination with a door structure and a supporting structure therefor, concealed hinge structure on said supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned relationship when said door structure is in its closed position, said hinge means comprising a hinge leaf secured to said door structure and having a portion located within said supporting structure adjacent its hin'ge edge wall and between the general planes of its side walls, said hinge leaf portion having a pair of spaced apertured parts, a pair of apertured parts carried by and located within said'supporting structure and spaced to receive therebetween the apertured parts of said hinge leaf, a pintle located entirely within said supporting structure and extending through the apertured parts of said hinge leaf and the aperturedparts 'of said supporting structure, whereby said hinge leaf is pivotally connected to the apertured parts of said supporting structure and the door structure is hinged on said supporting structure, and a hellcal torsion spring surrounding said pintle between the spaced apertured parts of said hinge leaf and having an arm for cooperation with the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf, said spring am having a normal tendency to swing in a door opening direction and said hinge leaf portion being located between said spring arm and said door structure, said spring through its arm being put in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective by the cooperation of its arm with said hinge leaf portion to automatically open said door structure when it is closed and unlatched.

6. In combination with a door structure and a supporting structure therefor, concealed hinge means for so hinging said door structure on said supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned relationship when said door structure is in its closed position, said hinge means comprising a hinge leaf secured to said door structure and having a portion located within said supporting structure adjacent its hinge edge wall and between the general planes of its side walls, a part carried by and located withinsaid supporting structure, a pintle located entirely within said supporting structure and pivotally connecting the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf to the aforesaid part of said supporting structure, whereby said door structure is hinged on said supporting structure, and a helical torsion spring surrounding said pintle and having an arm for cooperation with the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf, said spring arm havinga normal tendency to swing in a door opening direction, said spring through its arm being put located between said member in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective by the cooperation of its arm with said hinge leaf portion to automatically open said door structure when it is closed and unlatched.

'7. In combination with a door structure and a supporting structure therefor, concealed hinge means for so hinging said door structure on said supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned re lationship when said door structure is in its closed position, said hinge means comprising a hinge leaf secured to said door structure and extending into said supporting structure in the region of the hinge edge wall thereof, said hinge leaf being provided within said supporting structure and between the general planes of its side walls with a portion substantially parallel with the hinge edge wall of the door structure, a part carried by and located within said supporting structure, a pintle located entirely within said supporting structure and pivotally connecting the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf and the aforesaid part of said supporting structure, whereby said door structure is hinged on said supporting structure, and a helical torsion spring surrounding said pintle and having an arm for cooperation with the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf, said spring arm having a swing in a door opening direction and said hinge leaf portion being located between said spring arm and the door structure, said spring through its arm being put in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective by the cooperation of its arm with said hinge leaf portion to automatically open said structure when it is closed and unlatched.

8. In combination with a door structure and a supporting structure therefor, wherein said supporting structure is provided with an internal transverse partition in spaced relation to its hinge edge wall, concealed hinge means for so hinging said door structure on said supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned relationship when said door structure is in its closed position, said hinge means comprising a hinge leaf secured to said door structure and having a portion extending into said supporting structure in the region of its hinge edge wall and between the general planes of its side walls, said hinge leaf portion having an apertured part located withnormal tendency to in said supporting structure, a member secured to the transverse partition of said supporting structure and having an apertured part extending toward the hinge edge wall of such supporting structure through an opening with which said partition is provided, a pintle located entirely within said supporting structure and extending through the apertured part of said hinge leaf and the apertured part of said member, whereby said hinge leaf is pivotally connected to said member and said door. structure is hinged on said supporting structure, and a helical torsion spring surrounding said pintle and having an arm for cooperation with the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf, said spring arm having a normal tendency to swing in a door opening direction, said spring through its arm being put in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective by the cooperation of its arm with said hinge leaf portion to automatically open said door structure when it is closed and unlatched.

9. In combination with a door structure and a supporting structure therefor, concealed hinge means for so hinging said door structureon said supporting structure that the hinge edge walls of said structures are in oppositely positioned relationship when'said door structure is in its closed position, saidhinge means comprising a hinge leaf secured to said door structure and having a portion located within said supporting structure in the region of its hinge edge wall and between the general planes of its side walls, a part carried by and located within said supporting structure, a pintle located entirely within said supporting structure and pivotally connecting the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf to the aforesaid part of said supporting structure, whereby said door structure is hinged on said supporting structure, and spring means cooperable with the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf and normally urging said hinge leaf to swing in a door opening direction about the longitudinal axis of said pintle, said hinge leaf portion being located between said spring meansand the door structure, said spring means being put in the desired loaded condition during the closing of the door structure and being effective by its cooperation with the aforesaid portion of said hinge leaf to automatically open said door structure when it is closed and unlatched. Y

' RUDOLPH I. SCHONITZER. 

